UCLA forward Tyler Honeycutt, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, will miss Thursday's game against UC Irvine with a mild shoulder sprain, but the injury is not expected to keep him out long term, coach Ben Howland said Wednesday.

Honeycutt, averaging 14.9 points and eight rebounds, had an MRI and X-rays on the shoulder, both of which showed no significant damage, Howland said.

"Everything was good, which I'm really thankful for," Howland said. "It'll take a few days to get it back, but it's not a long-term thing is what I'm happy about."

Howland said he was "hopeful" Honeycutt would recover in time to play UCLA's Pac-10 opener next Wednesday against Washington State.

Honeycutt, a 6-foot-8, 188-pound sophomore, injured the shoulder Tuesday night during a 75-59 victory over Montana State. He ran into 6-10, 270-pound Bobcats center Cody Anderson with 8:20 left to play and finished with nine points and four rebounds.

"They hit shoulder to shoulder," Howland said. "He just hit it in the right spot."

Freshman Tyler Lamb will start in Honeycutt's place. Lamb is averaging 3.3 points in 16.4 minutes a game. He started in place of the injured Malcolm Lee against Pacific, but scored only two points. He scored a career-high eight points Tuesday against Montana State.